1. MONTANA ALLIANCE WARNS ABOUT FREE TRADE EXPANSION

Saying that free trade expansion has been an "abysmal failure" for America's ranchers, consumers, workers and the environment, a Montana Rural Alliance is warning against expanding trade under the Bush Administration. In a press release during last week's FTAA (Free Trade Area of the America's) meetings in Quebec, an alliance of rural ranching, church, environmental and labor groups also called on Congress not to grant presidential fast track trade authority to President Bush. The release, sent out by the Northern Plains Resource Council, the Montana Farmers Union and others, carefully document statistics related to job loss in Montana and the US under the new North American Free Trade Alliance (NAFTA). According to Don Judge, Executive Secretary of the Montana AFL-CIO, "More than 2,900 workers, family farmers and ranchers have lost their jobs in the last nine months alone, how many more will be lost if the Bush Administration and Congress expands NAFTA to 34 more countries in addition to Canada and Mexico?"

2. HOUSE AG CHAIRMAN: WHAT IS A FAMILY FARMER?

When asked recently if corporate farming and bad prices sounded the death knell for the family farmer, House Ag Chairman Larry Combest (R) Lubbock, TX said, "What is a family farmer? I don't know what that means." John Fuquay, reporting in the Lubbock Avanlanche Journal quoted Combest as adding, "Farms that survive will be innovative or take better advantage of economies of scale. Some are going to go by the wayside, we can't reward bad management." Combest, who sits as chairman of the US House Agricultural Committee made these comments while speaking to agriculture students recently at Texas Tech University. Insiders in Washington, D.C. report that President Bush will be "following Combest's lead" when comes to farm policy.

Congress returns from vacation this week and discussions on the farm bill are expected to heat up soon.

3. SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR IMPOSES MORATORIUM ON FACTORY FARMING

According to the Associated Press, the newly elected Governor of South Carolina, Jim Hodges, has imposed a 15 day moratorium on factory hog farms.

The emergency order, imposed this week by Hodges, is designed to give state environmental regulators time to consider permit applications by Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, which wants to build two huge hog farms.

Smithfield and its North Carolina subsidiary, Carroll's Foods, want to house 32,000 hogs on two farms. Similar large-scale farms have created powerful odors and are blamed for water pollution throughout neighboring North Carolina. The AP quoted the Governor as saying, "We cannot allow our rich and vibrant quality of life to be eroded by reckless out-of-state hog factory farms. I call on the Legislature to take action. Toughen our laws and defend our families."

4. AMERICANS WANT BIO-TECH LABELING

According to Reuters (3-26-2001) a new survey of American consumers shows overwhelmingly that they want their biotech foods labeled. In fact, Reuters reports that a poll recently released by the Pew Charitable Trust Foundation discovered some "75 percent of (poll) respondents said it was somewhat or very important to them to know if their food has been genetically altered." While mandatory food labeling is staunchly opposed by the food industry in America, labeling is commonplace in most of Europe and other countries. The survey comes in the wake of evidence that genetically altered food not approved for humans was found in Taco Bell taco shells and other corn products. It also follows a decision by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January that rejected mandatory labels. Reuters also reported that "the agency (FDA) took the action despite overwhelming agreement among its own consumer focus groups that gene-spliced foods should be labeled in the interest of fair disclosure."

If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to this list, visit our
Rural Updates Subscriber Center